Something New
by Necia
Summary: Harry, Draco etc all back for their sixth year at Hogwarts
1. Default Chapter

After the Sorting Hat performed the traditional sorting into houses, Dumbledore stood to make his speech.  
  
"Welcome back to Hogwarts. And welcome for the first time to all new first years." He smiled warmly at the youngest pupils, just categorized into their houses.  
  
"And welcome, of course, to the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, which has become a sort of tradition all by itself," with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes he said, "Professor Ronan."  
  
Professor Ronan, a young happy looking witch, smiled brightly at all the students in the Great Hall. She was wearing the usual black robes of the teachers, but it was tied at the waist with a brightly coloured woven belt. The whole outfit showed off her curvaceous figure to great effect. Her dark hair was indiscernible beneath the pointed black hat.  
  
"She looks nice," Harry whispered.  
  
Ron nodded in agreement, "better than the last one."  
  
"Just because she's pretty," Hermione said, frowning.  
  
Just then Dumbledore stood and spoke again, "Another addition to the staff this year is someone most of the students might remember. Miss Delacour joined us two years ago for the Triwizard Tournament. She is going to be an assistant teacher here at Hogwarts for the next year."  
  
Fleur Delacour smiled uncertainly. She looked very nervous and slightly bewildered.  
  
"She's back!" Ron whispered excitedly to Harry.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes, remembering the effect Fleur had had on Ron (and most of the male students) back in forth year. She put it down to Fleur's Veela heritage.  
  
"Without further ado, let the feast commence," Dumbledore announced.  
  
As always, the golden goblets and platters magically filled instantaneously with delicious food and drink.  
  
Draco had paid hardly any attention to Dumbledore's announcements, although the new Defence teacher looked interesting. He glanced up to the staff table. Professors Snape and Ronan were deep in conversation, and she laughed at something Snape said. Snape smiled. It was a different kind of smile Draco had ever seen on him before.  
  
Well at least someone's happy, thought Draco. This year he knew he could not suffer Crabbe and Goyle, or indeed most of the Slytherins. Just thinking that he had been just like them made him shiver.  
  
He picked restlessly at the food on his plate, not really hungry. He ignored the chatter around him on the Slytherin table. What he really wanted to do was go to his room and plan what he was going to say to Ciara tomorrow. 


	2. Chapter Two

Draco rolled over on his bed. His headphones blasted muggle music into his brain so loudly that the boy on the other side of the room was tapping his foot to the heavy drumbeat. Even though it was muggle music, Draco still listened to it. It seemed to match his frame of mind, this muggle goth, metal ..or whatever this kind of music was called. The lyrics were dark, angry, twisted and sometimes scary. They sang usually of being alone, misunderstood or dying. That suited Draco fine.  
Suddenly the dorm door burst open and Crabbe and Goyle crashed in. Draco took off his headphones in anticipation of whatever stupid and or pointless thing they were going to say that he wouldn't care about.  
"Hey Malfoy!" Crabbe said. "What now?" he asked them. "You've been moping around up here all morning," Goyle supplied. "Yeah, you should come down. Hey, we could piss off Potter and his buddies." Crabbe suggested. "Or we could go and watch the girls practising Quidditch. You know, we can see right up their skirts if they fly above us," Goyle added. "How thrilling for you," Draco said dryly, "alright, I guess I could do with some fresh air. I'll just grab a shirt." He looked around the immediate vicinity of his bed for a shirt. He couldn't find one. "Don't worry about a shirt, Malfoy. Let the sun get at those pale pecs of yours," Crabbe told him. "Yeah, the girls ain't gonna complain either," Goyle said, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Is that all you ever think about?" Draco asked him, slightly bemused. "What?" "Girls." "Oh, yeah!" Goyle grinned moronically. Crabbe smirked, "When was the last time you had a girlfriend then, Goyle?" "Third year," Goyle replied quietly, looking at the floor. "And Muriel only went out with you because you bullied her into it," Draco said with a smile, "you threatened to cut her pig tails off, if I remember correctly." "Yeah!" Crabbe said laughing as he punched his now miserable and embarrassed friend on the arm. "I can look can't I?" Goyle said, brightening. "This year'll be different. I am irresistible!" Draco raised an eyebrow, as he looked his friend up and down. From his greasy hair, spotty face, and his belly bulging over his dirty jeans Draco didn't think Goyle had much to offer a girl. He wasn't even a nice person - far from it in fact. Mix that with his bad breath and complete lack of manners and he was anything but irresistible. Draco just shook his head. It wasn't even as if Draco himself had had much luck in the love department. He'd been out with a few girls over the years, none of them meant anything though. Most girls were scared of him, or thought he was evil. He didn't mind, in fact he preferred it that way, or he had at least. But now he envied all the people who had proper friends, true friends and loving relationships. All through his life at Hogwarts he been feared, if not respected. People laughed at his jokes because they were afraid of what might happen if they didn't. Part of that was to do with his family; they were a powerful pureblood wizard family and his father had been, and still was, a Death Eater. Just thinking about his father working for that evil man made Draco feel physically sick. He used to think that having a wicked and feared father was the best thing that could ever happen to him, next to becoming a Death Eater himself. Now he was just disgusted by his father (and mother) and he would rather die than become a Death Eater. Now that his father had been caught and sent to Azkaban, and his mother was in hiding, Draco felt he could be free. Draco had changed so much in the past few years. From the arrogant, spiteful, malicious and conceited boy he had been, he was now a remorseful, self conscious, sad young man who cared what people thought about him. He wished he could change what he'd done in the past. Especially about doing all he could to make Potter's life hell for all six years they'd been at Hogwarts. Now he wished he'd been more like Potter. Looking back Draco couldn't believe he'd ever wanted to be Slytherin's heir in second year. It made him terribly ashamed to think about what he had been like and so very lonely and sad when he imagined what he could have been. The three of them had walked down from the seventh year dormitories in silence and through the Slytherin common room and were just walking out of the hidden stone door in the dungeons when Draco snapped out of his daydreaming. Crabbe and Goyle were arguing loudly about who was the fittest girl on the four Quidditch teams; they both agreed it had to be a Slytherin. Draco knew who he thought was the fittest girl in the school, though she wasn't on a Quidditch team and she wasn't a Slytherin. And he still hadn't talked to her yet, even though they'd been back at school for three days now. They were walking up the stone steps to the main part of the school before they met anyone else. Millicent Bulestrode was walking down towards them, her long silky hair and cloak flowing behind her. She was almost unrecognisable from the girl she had been in first year. She had grown from an ugly little girl into a beautiful young woman in just a few years. And Draco suspected she had a little bit of a crush on him. "Hi Draco," she said in a silvery voice. "Oh, hi Millicent," Draco replied out of politeness, but it did not stretch so far as to actually stop and talk to her. So the three guys walked up the stairs while Millicent walked down, looking rather put out. Although Goyle turned around so he could get a good view of her walking away, her hips swinging. Once in the entrance hall they stopped, unsure of where to go next. "Hey, why don't we get some food from the kitchens?" Crabbe said. "Yeah!" Goyle agreed. "Nah, I'm not hungry. But you two go, I'll see you outside later," Draco said, secretly pleased he might be able to get away from the two morons. "Oh, alright Malfoy," Goyle replied over his shoulder, hurrying to catch up with Crabbe. Draco walked slowly outside, squinting in the brightness of the autumn sun. The grounds were full of people playing and lounging around on the grass. He accidentally walked through a group of students throwing a Frisbee around that shouted things at the players when it was dropped. "Sorry," he mumbled as the players, and the Frisbee, shouted at him. He hurried out of the way and walked smack into someone. Looking up he noticed the violent orange hair of a Weasley. "Watch where you going, Malfoy," snapped Ron Weasley, giving him a slight shove out the way. "Sorry," Draco mumbled again, stumbling to get out away. He continued to wander aimlessly around the lawn, and finally he found a relatively clear spot in which he promptly sat down. 


End file.
